Website Design Essentials: Define Your Site’s Purpose and Goals

Not all artists are created equal. This same concept applies to websites. Your personal domain on the Web needs to serve two masters: The needs of your fans AND your own marketing and career goals.

To help you define your site’s main objectives, ask yourself this key question:

What do I want people to do, think and feel when they visit my website?

It’s important to understand that these are three separate and distinct categories. So give some serious thought to what you want people to DO (a specific action they will take), THINK (a rational thought or fact about you they will learn) and FEEL (a deeper emotional response they will have to the images, audio, video, and design) when they visit your website.

Here are some possible answers in the DO category:

Purchase something from my site

Sign up for my email list

Listen to my song samples, read a book excerpt

Watch a video

Hire me to perform or appear at an event

Here are some possible THINK goals:

Realize I am an accomplished artist

Understand the type of art I make and how it benefits them

Comprehend what causes I stand for

Find out when and where my next appearance is

Discover where my album or book is available for sale

Know what I look like

Finally, what emotional response do you want to elicit from your visitors? How do you want your website to make them FEEL?

Empowered and inspired

Sad and melancholy

Turned on and aroused

Outraged and angry

Silly and fun-loving

Relaxed and mellow

Energized and ready to party

Warning: Please don’t say you want your website to accomplish “all of the above.” That’s asking too much. Prioritize the actions, thoughts and feelings you want your site to evoke.

Most artists and music promoters never consider these important details – to their detriment. You must clarify your website’s “do, think and feel” goals first. Only then can you design a site that will gently lead people to take the actions and think the thoughts that are most important to you.

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Bob Baker is the author of three books in the “Guerrilla Music Marketing” series, along with many other books and promotion resources for DIY artists, managers and music biz pros. You’ll find Bob’s free ezine, blog, podcast, video clips and articles at www.TheBuzzFactor.com and www.MusicPromotionBlog.com.